A Kiwi in search of her Irish, English & Scottish tribes

Category: Events
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I’ve just spend three days attending the DNA to the Max event in Sydney, part of Unlock the Past’s DNA Down Under roadshow. My verdict: phenomenal!

Blaine Bettinger at DNA Down Under in Sydney 2019

Headlining the event was Blaine Bettinger, one of the US’s top genetic genealogists, ably supported by our local Australasian experts. The topics ranged from the ethics involved in DNA testing, to visual phasing and chromosome mapping. While there were some talks aimed at beginners, most were of intermediate to advanced level. The panel discussions in the last session of each day were brilliant.

Here are my main takeways from the three days:

1. Step away from the small segments

Any match under 7 centiMorgans (cM) lies in what Bettinger terms “the Danger Zone”. Be cautious of a match between 7 and 10 cM, and feel pretty safe with anything over 10 cM. The caveat though, is that those 10 cM can’t be made up of several small segments – it should be one block, or segment, on a chromosome.

However, say you have a connection showing on Ancestry’s ThruLines, but it’s with a small segment of 6 cM. If the paper trail and documentation are sound, it’s definitely worth pursuing the match. Bettinger says: “You may be genealogically related, but not genetically related.” So, test to see if that small segment is valid, or just random noise. Either way, you may have found a cousin.

2. Take up stamp collecting

The testing of artefacts such as stamps and envelopes for DNA is becoming cheaper and more viable. Louise Coakley’s presentation on the options available now, and what may be available in the future, was eye-opening. There’s no guarantee that your grandmother licked that stamp or envelope herself, so the DNA found may not be from her, but it could be worth the punt to test any letters she sent.

totheletterDNA offers a testing service, including an initial check to see if the sample is suitable for further analysis. Whether the sample is viable, often depends on how the item has been stored. So break out the acid-free archival pockets and preserve those letters! I’m off to check out my great aunt’s letter (and envelope), and see what other letters we may have stored away.

3. Get informed consent

If you’re asking family (or strangers) to take a DNA test, make them aware of possible issues. Just because you’re not requesting a health test right now, doesn’t mean that in three years time, your results won’t automatically indicate a possible health risk (which might be viewable by all). This may not be a consideration for your 80 year old uncle, but it may be for a cousin in their 40s.

Do they want to know if something unexpected turns up? When Bettinger asked the audience to raise their hands if they had encountered a surprise with their DNA results, over 30 per cent of the 400 strong audience raised their hands. Some surprises will be good, but it’s important to be aware (and make others aware) that some might not be so positive.

Are they happy to have their raw data transferred to other companies? Ancestry has the largest database of testers, but they don’t offer a chromosome browser, so uploading to other sites can be useful for detailed analysis. Get consent before you do.

The Facebook group Genetic Genealogy Tips & Techniques has an Informed Consent Agreement you can download and use. (The group is a fantastic resource if you’re interested in DNA.)

Panel discussion at DNA Down Under in Sydney 2019

Unlock the Past did an amazing job putting together this event, and I was honoured to be selected as an Ambassador. I loved catching up with genies I had met at Congress last year, and meeting people I follow on social media.

It’s likely Unlock the Past will hold another DNA Down Under roadshow in 2021 or 2022, so start saving (and testing).

In the meantime, the exciting news is that Blaine Bettinger and Angie Bush will be coming to New Zealand next year in March and April. As far as I know they will be giving talks in Auckland, Tauranga, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin, with a three day workshop in Auckland at the end. If you’re interested in learning more about DNA analysis for family history, miss these at your peril!

Auckland Libraries and the New Zealand Society of Genealogists (NZSG) Computing Group organise the annual Auckland Family History Expo, as part of the August’s Family History month festivities here in New Zealand. Last time I attended was two years ago, so I was looking forward to this year’s event.

I flew up early Friday morning so I had time to catch up with a couple of friends, and also sneak in a first-time visit to NZSG’s Family Research Centre Library in Panmure. Fantastic resources there, including access to the main subscription websites, and the helpful volunteers chased down maps of early Auckland for me. I will be back!

The Expo opened with a reception on Friday afternoon, though I was a little late arriving due to accidentally getting onto a motorway and enduring barely moving traffic until I reached the next exit. Luckily I arrived in time for snacks! The two keynote speakers gave presentations after the reception – Cyndi Ingle (of Cyndi’s List) with Genealogy and the Internet, and Dr Nick Barratt (probably best known as the genealogical consultant for television programme Who Do you Think You Are?) on the Future of Family History. What a fantastic choice of speakers!

Cyndi Ingle (in the shadows) with her first talk on Saturday morning

Saturday morning it was standing room only at Cyndi Ingle’s talk on Building a Digital Research Plan. It was to be a feature of the weekend, with many talks completely full (and ‘health and safety’ kicking in pretty swiftly so no standing at the back allowed for most of them).

I was on the Guild of One Name Studies stand for most of Saturday morning, helping Michelle Patient (who was also wearing an AncestryDNA hat for the weekend). It was fun explaining about the Guild and I think we may have even picked up a couple of new members.

Guild of One Name Studies and AncestryDNA stands, with Michelle Patient

Saturday afternoon’s presentations I managed to see were Jan Gow on collating a reference library for your research, Raymon Naisbitt from Family Search on using their digital records, Nick Barratt on researching and writing your family history, and an entertaining and inspiring talk on maintaining an organised computer from Cyndi Ingle.

On Sunday morning my cousin and I arrived at the venue nice and early to snag a seat for Nick Barratt’s presentation on medieval and early modern sources for research, and straight afterwards Cyndi Ingle’s talk on hidden treasures in libraries, archives and digital collections. DNA was the focus of several talks I attended – one from Michelle Patient and two from Fiona Brooker. It was good to reinforce what I knew and also to pick up some great tips and tricks – all good preparation for the DNA Down Under event in Sydney in less than two weeks! (Pre-booking closes today for Sydney, tickets available on the door for Adelaide on Tuesday 20th, Melbourne and Canberra now booked out.)

Two resources I learnt more about:

Digital NZ‘s new feature that’s about to launch – the ability to upload your own images to stories you’ve created on Digital NZ. (I like the facility to specify copyright level, too.)

Andy Fenton (from NZ Micrographics) shared examples of organisations using Recollect, a platform to share stories and images. There are some wonderful sites out there – West Coast NZ History is a great example of a digital archive, run by volunteers.

I barely had any time to check out the stands, but was pleased to buy Family Tree Maker for the princely sum of $70 (which includes a free upgrade to the 2019 version). I’m hoping it will be useful in backing up data and documents I have on Ancestry, and provide some different charting options to what I have already.

Auckland Family History Expo – exhibtors hall

Unfortunately I had to miss the last session of Sunday as I had a plane to catch (which was then delayed, grrr!) – the perils of booking flights before the programme was released.

Hats off to the organisers for a fabulous weekend, with an excellent range of presentations for all levels of family history researchers. Apart from the talks, it was also fantastic to catch up with other genie friends, and I’m definitely keen to return next year.

Next up on the calendar is another Family History month event, Wellington’s Family History Open Day [PDF, 1.2MB] on Saturday 24th August in Lower Hutt. The presentations on offer look like they’ll provide a great introduction to researching your family as well as highlighting new resources, and there’ll be plenty of assistance available from volunteers. Don’t miss Richard Foy’s talk at 2.30pm!

My 3 x great grandfather George Tunnecliffe (or Tunnecliff/Tunnicliff/Tunnicliffe) arrived in New Zealand aboard the Dinapore, landing in Auckland on 5th of August 1857. Three days later he married a fellow passenger, Elizabeth Barber, and they made their home in the province of Taranaki.

As their marriage occurred before 1880, the couple’s parents were not stated on the marriage registration. When George died in 1912, sadly neither of his parents were given on his death certificate (as is usual for a New Zealand death registration after 1875).

The only clue to his family was the name of the county were he was born — Staffordshire.

Where born, from 1912 death register entry for George Tunnicliffe, New Plymouth (NZ Births, Deaths & Marriages 1912/2739)

George’s birth year was around 1831, and so I searched for likely candidates baptised in Staffordshire around that time. My next step was matching those baptisms to families in the England & Wales censuses of 1841 and 1851. I then tried to find each candidate in the 1861 census, reasoning that I could discount any that were still in England at that time. There was one family whose son George fitted the bill.

This was the family of farmer William Tunnecliff and Louisa Phillips of Tean in the parish of Checkley. Their son George was born on 17th December 1831, and baptised two days later in the parish church, St Mary and All Saints.

1831 baptism of George Tunnicliffe, son of William and Louisa, on 19th December in the parish of Checkley

William and Louisa had seven children baptised in Checkley:

William, born 1 Oct 1826, bap. 31 Oct 1826

Francis Nathaniel, bap. 10 Mar 1828

Edward Philips, bap. 6 Mar 1830

George, born 17 Dec 1831, bap. 19 Dec 1831

Georgiana Louisa, born 11 Dec 1833, bap. 14 Dec 1833

Elizabeth Anne, born 18 Mar 1836, bap. 21 Mar 1836

Bethuel, born 1 Jan 1840, bap. 20 Feb 1840

Bethuel was the name of Louisa’s grandfather, and it wasn’t hard to research back with such a distinctive name, but I had to stop! What if they weren’t my family?

St Mary & All Saints Church, Checkley, Staffordshire ~ April 2012

When I posted on this blog about visiting Checkley in 2012, a descendant of that family got in contact, saying she thought George might be a brother to her ancestor, Francis Nathaniel Tunnecliffe. Francis and his brother Edward both emigrated to Australia, so it wasn’t much of a stretch to think that their younger brother also emigrated to the other side of the world.

In 1841, the Tunnecliff family and three servants were living at Hall Green, Tean.1

Louisa had moved to Tean Villa and four of her children were living with her: Edward, George, Elizabeth and Bethuel.3Son Francis was living at Hall Green with his widowed aunt Maria Thweng, Louisa’s sister.4

More cousins came out of the woodwork — one descended from the Edward who went to Australia, and another more distant cousin who was descended from William Tunnecliffe’s uncle.

It may have been around the time I was doing assignments on probate records for IHGS, when I thought to look for wills for these Tunnecliffes, specifically Louisa. I hadn’t thought of it before, as none of my other “pre-New Zealand” folks had left much at all, let alone a will.

Louisa’s husband William had died in 1847 without leaving a will, but his father Francis (who died in 1854) left bequests to daughter-in-law Louisa, as well as his grandchildren. Did this provide the funds for grandsons Francis, Edward and George to emigrate?

Will of Louisa Tunnecliff, dated 20th November 1868, proved 10th March 1880, Lichfield.

Louisa Tunnecliff died in 1879, and in her will, apart from the proceeds of her estate to be split between her children, she left explicit bequests of numerous items, notably anything large to family still living in England, and much smaller items such as jewellery to those living overseas. Louisa also bequeathed items to her children’s spouses, and their first-born daughters. Frustratingly, she did not name them! George’s eldest daughter was bequeathed a gold watch and chain, and his wife, two small rings.

Will of Louisa Tunnecliff, dated 20th November 1868, proved 10th March 1880, Lichfield.

Of most significance, there were three items in her bequests that presumably were gifts sent to her from family (or friends?) living overseas — an “Australian ring”, a “New Zealand Picture in Oil”, and a “Satchel and Cover from New Zealand”. Unless Francis and Edward had been gallivanting around New Zealand, I surmised that it was more likely a relation living in NZ would have sent the items from there, namely (hopefully?) my George.

After this, I happily researched the Tunnicliffe and Phillips families, reasonably sure that they were mine. Or was it wishful thinking? Louisa Phillips had come from a well-to-do family and it was a joy to finally discover an ancestral line that had land, houses, wills! At the back of my mind, I still wasn’t 100 per cent confident these were my families.

My parents first had their DNA tested in 2013 at FamilyTreeDNA, and later Ancestry. I haven’t delved too much into analysing their results so far, as I had plenty of paper trails to follow while I was living in England. Still, I kept checking the matches, seeing if particular surnames cropped up, to confirm what I’d researched so far. Worryingly, no matches ever appeared that linked with the Tunnecliffe and Phillips families in England.

Until a couple of weeks ago when a fourth cousin match popped up for my mother — a descendant of Francis Nathaniel Tunnecliffe, one of the brothers who had emigrated to Australia. Eureka! I still need a couple more matches to verify the connection, but it’s a great start.

Later this month I’m off to Sydney to attend DNA Down Under, so I’ll get a chance to learn more about DNA analysis and how to combine it with my genealogical research.* There are some inspiring local and international speakers, and I hope to catch up with a few genie mates as well (and the odd cousin or two!). If you haven’t checked out the DNA Down Under six-city schedule, hurry! Here are the pre-booking dates:

While there are presentations for all levels of DNA expertise (even none at all!), I’m planning to do a bit of swatting up beforehand, to get the most out of the event. If you’re new to using DNA for genealogy, a good place to start is the International Society of Genetic Genealogy website.

*Disclaimer: As a DNA Down Under Ambassador, I get discounted entry for highlighting the event.

August is Family History Month in New Zealand and Australia, and there’s quite a bit going on for both hardened researchers and those just starting out. Here are a few events happening in the Wellington region and a couple further afield.

City and Harbour, Wellington NZ 4073, from family collection, date unknown

Getting more out of your DNA results
> Saturday 27th July: 10am – 4pm
> Kapiti Community Centre, 15 Ngahina St, Paraparamumu
Just sneaking in at the end of July, a sort of pre-launch for Family History Month, is Kapiti DNA Interest Group’s event with Michelle Patient and Lorna Henderson. All welcome. $15, book by emailing DNADay@KapitiGen.org.

Auckland Family History Expo
> Friday 9th August: 5pm – 8.30pm
> Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th August: 8.30am – 6pm
> Fickling Convention Centre , 546 Mt Albert Rd, Three Kings.
Presenters Nick Barratt (UK) and Cyndi Ingle (USA) are joined by some great speakers from around NZ and Australia, plus there’s also an exhibition with genealogy-related companies and groups. There is a welcome reception and two presentations on the Friday evening ($15 charge). Entry on Saturday and Sunday is free.

DNA Down Under
> Wednesday 14th – Saturday 31st August
> Brisbane (14th), Perth (17th), Adelaide (20th), Melbourne (23rd), Canberra (26th), Sydney (29th – 31st)
One day events in five cities, plus a three day event in Sydney, featuring genetic genealogist Blaine Bettinger (USA) along with 11 other renowned speakers, with presentations suitable for DNA newbies and gurus alike. $A155 for one day, $A335 for three days, plus discount for combining Sydney with another city. See the DNA Down Under website for venue and programme information. I’m excited to be a DNA Down Under Ambassador and will be attending the Sydney three day event!

It’s been over a month since we arrived back from a family trip to the UK, where I managed to squeeze in a few genealogy-related activities.

While our main reason for visiting was to see family and friends, the timing of our visit was so I could attend the award ceremony for my Advanced Diploma in Local History at the beautiful Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford.

University of Oxford Department for Continuing Education, 2019 Award Ceremony at the Sheldonian Theatre

I would absolutely recommend the course – just be prepared to give up your life while you’re doing it! There was a lot of reading. And by a lot, I mean A LOT. You’d start off on one book or article and then disappear down a rabbit hole of footnotes and references until your eyes weeped from tiredness. The assignments were evenly spaced throughout the year, though there was also the unit homework to complete as well (did anyone ever finish it all?), and the weekly online tutorial chats to attend. These were relatively informal, but just like with the online course forum, I suffered a little from imposter syndrome and was reticent about posting much. Which was all very daft, as the students and tutors were welcoming and generous. It was often a struggle fitting in studying with holding down a day job combined with family responsibilities, but oh, the joy in learning and having my eyes opened! And the opportunity to combine my love of history with a love of data wrangling and analysis. It was definitely the most intense and challenging course I have ever undertaken.

After Oxford, it was on to Leicester – where the Guild of One-Name Studies was celebrating its 40th birthday as part of its annual conference, and happily the dates coincided with our travels. The conference organisers had arranged an optional tour of the Richard III visitors’ centre and nearby cathedral, and it was a great chance to peer down into the spot where Richard’s body had been discovered, and also to see his impressive final resting place.

The tomb of Richard III, Leicester Cathedral

The conference itself was a combination of socialising and learning, with some fantastic presentations, including one from Simon Wills on ancestral travels by sea, Voyages from the Past. I’ve now since bought his book of the same name. (A fuller review of the conference appears in July’s Guild Journal.)

Before my trip, I had decided I would focus my research on my 3 x great grandfather, John Clark(e), and I spent a couple of days at The National Archives at Kew and three days in Belfast, chasing him up in muster rolls, pension payment records, and parish registers. Which John Clark was he – Thing 1 or Thing 2??

I had been to Belfast several times before, but never visited the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI). On my first morning in the city I stopped in at the Ulster Historical Foundation to see about booking a research consultation. Fortunately there was a researcher available right then and there, and Gillian Hunt was a huge help in reviewing what I’d already found and suggesting ways forward in my research, as well as finding a baptism I hadn’t come across. I’d really recommend doing this, especially if it’s your first time in Belfast, though at busier times you’d need to book an appointment in advance.

Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI), Belfast

The facilities at PRONI are fabulous and the staff incredibly helpful. It’s located in the Titanic Quarter, not far from the Titanic museum, and I opted to stay in the city centre, about a 30 minute walk away. The Hop-on Hop-off City Sightseeing bus travels through the area regularly, and on my last afternoon I hopped on and took a tour around the city before heading to the airport.

The last genealogical event I attended was Family Tree LIVE at Alexandra Palace in London at the end of April. After a dearth of similar events last year due to the closure of WDYTYA? Live, suddenly there’s a whole heap of genie treats this year, and I was thrilled to sneak this in to our trip.

Family Tree LIVE, Alexandra Palace, London

The venue was fantastic, and although there were few nearby eating and sleeping options, there was parking available plus shuttle buses from Wood Green underground station. I thought the atmosphere was wonderful, and it was lovely to catch up with many genie friends and put faces to Twitter handles. The range of talks was excellent – highlights for me were Pam Smith’s presentation on her one-place study of Rillington, and Jonny Perl’s chromosome mapping with his DNA Painter tool.

Back on this side of the planet now and there’s lots to look forward to! My father is celebrating his 80th birthday and the launch of his family history book this month. August is Family History month in Australasia, and I’m heading to Auckland for the Family History Expo there, and have also booked for the DNA Down Under three day event in Sydney at the end of August.

This is a copy of a photograph that was shared with me by my third cousin, Margaret. The couple are our great great grandparents, Ann Philp and Martin Burke. But who is the girl with them? Ann and Martin had three children: Mary (born 1863), Anne (born 1865) and Thomas (born around 1866), so presumably the young girl is either Mary or Anne. A few years ago I had a printout of the photo dated by American photo expert Maureen Taylor at Who Do You Think You Are? Live in London, who estimated it was taken in the 1870s. Given the birth years of the girls, it’s probably more likely to be Anne in the photo, though difficult to be sure.

Martin and Ann, with baby Mary, emigrated to New Zealand in 1863 aboard the Mermaid, and settled near Christchurch, Canterbury. In two weeks I’m heading down to Christchurch for the New Zealand Society of Genealogists’ conference, Echoes of our Past, getting there a day early so I have some time for researching the Burke family!

One of the best things about the recent Congress in Sydney was meeting up with fellow genealogy bloggers, easily recognised by our blogger beads (kindly sponsored by GeniAus and Lonetester). It was a wonderful way to break the ice and get chatting with lots of different folk, especially in the line for a cuppa at morning tea.

Some of the Australasian genealogy bloggers (plus American Judy Russell) at Congress 2018 in Darling Harbour, Sydney. Thanks to Diana Hurford for the photo!

It has taken me several days to come off Sydney time and the genie high that was the 15th Australasian Congress of Genealogy and Heraldry 2018. What a glorious four days! The weather was good, the venue superb, and the craic mighty – a winning combination. Hats off to the organisers for an amazing event, and to GeniAus for making it so welcoming to newcomers.

GeniAus about to interview John at Friday night’s get-together

Among the presentations I attended were those given by speakers I’d heard and enjoyed before – Judy Russell, Paul Milner, Paul Blake, and Lisa Louise Cooke. Always good value! Kiwi Fiona Brooker gave a great talk on families who travelled back and forwards “across the ditch” (the Tasman Sea), and GeniAus Jill Ball shared some useful tips for family history bloggers. Kerry Farmer’s two presentations on DNA were excellent – one was on solving family puzzles using DNA (illustrated with case studies), and the other on chromosome mapping (which I want to tackle but haven’t got round to).

I also attended talks on the National Archives of Australia and Trove, but unfortunately my attention was elsewhere at the time as my daughter’s school camp in the South Island had been hit by a gastro bug and lots of messaging ensued between myself and the husband back in NZ trying to find a way to get her home. (She was one of the lucky ones who didn’t get ill!)

Ruth Graham’s presentation on Digital Humanities and Pauleen Cass’s on Uncovering your Irish roots both provided some food for thought, and Carole Riley gave us the low-down on Evernote and OneNote (though I still don’t know which I prefer). I loved Thom Reed’s tips on utilising the unindexed records on FamilySearch – there’s treasure to be discovered!

The only presentation that was disappointing was on How to be a professional genealogist, where I had hoped to learn a bit about the genealogy industry in Australasia. Most of the talk was taken up with audience members’ comments on the various (good) educational options available locally and little on other practicalities. However, I am comparing with a couple of day-long events that I attended in England, so perhaps unfair. And (as an audience member) Judy Russell’s advocacy for the APG (Association of Professional Genealogists) was marvellous!

Saturday night was the Congress dinner and obviously the genealogy gods were smiling as my table included both renowned NZ genealogist Jan Gow and American speaker Lisa Louise Cooke, as well as my two new Aussie genie-mates Janelle and Hillary. The food was good and the company even better. On Sunday night I had dinner with fellow members of the Guild of One Name Studies (thanks to Karen Rogers for organising).

The highlight of Congress was the wonderful conviviality and generosity shown by everyone. I had expected it to be similar to my first couple of genealogy events in England where (while I learnt a lot) I spent most of the time on my own. No chance of that with Congress!

Getting up at dark o’clock (3am) is not much fun, but heading to Congress in Sydney was worth the bleary-eyed start. It’s a three hour flight “across the ditch” (aka the Tasman Sea) and after arriving just after 8am it was good to dump my suitcase at the hotel and then head to pre-register.

The Society of Australian Genealogists (SAG) had opened up their HQ for pre-registration and a ‘meet and greet’ opportunity. GeniAus (Jill Ball) was on hand to welcome everyone, especially first-time Congress attendees, and to hand out ‘First Time attendee’ ribbons. The tea and cakes were very welcome, as was the chance to meet other genealogists. As a geneablogger, I also got to pick up some blogger beads! These are a great way to recognise fellow bloggers at the conference (and a nice talking point when you don’t know many folks).

Pre-registration swag!

I had booked in for an afternoon tour of Hyde Park Barracks that SAG had arranged, and what an amazing place it is. Built between 1817 and 1819 by convicts, and designed by former convict turned architect Francis Greenway, it was originally designed to house labouring convicts. Transportion to New South Wales ceased in 1840, and by 1848 the building was being used to accommodate female immigrants as well as destitute women. From 1887 it was used for law courts and government offices, right up until 1979.

Hyde Park Barracks

During the time convicts lived in the barracks, they slept in these hammocks. We were allowed to try them out – I almost fell asleep in one of them, they seemed so comfortable (or maybe I was just very very tired).

Hammocks for convict labourers, Hyde Park Barracks

In the evening my Australian cousins took me out for dinner at Sydney’s oldest continually licensed hotel, the Lord Nelson Brewing Hotel. A fitting end to the day!

RootsTech is the annual genealogy-meets-technology conference held in Salt Lake City, Utah, and this year is being held Wednesday 28th February to Saturday 3rd March. Not all of us can make it over there in person, but we can watch some of the presentations at home. Inspired by Sylvia Valentine who has “translated” the timetable from MST (Mountain Standard Time) into GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) for UK and Ireland folks, below is the timetable in NZDT (New Zealand Daylight Time). New Zealand is 20 hours ahead of Salt Lake City, so don’t get confused by the “Wednesday General Session” happening on a Thursday, etc!

There’s an excellent line-up of speakers, and if you have British Isles ancestry I can definitely recommend Myko Clelland and Brian Donovan – I’ve heard them both speak in person and they’re bound to give engaging and informative presentations.

For more details on the presentations and the live stream, visit the RootsTech website.